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File:Erotica.png
"In This Life"
Length 6:25
Writer(s) Madonna
Shep Pettibone
Producer(s) Madonna
Shep Pettibone

Erotica+2+(2) track listing

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Why's It So Hard
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Did You Do It?

"In This Life" is a song by Madonna from her fifth studio album Erotica.

Background[]

This song is about the tragic death of two of Madonna's friends. Singer Martin Burgoyne was a good friend and former roommate of Madonna, when she lived in New York in the early eighties. Burgoyne died from aids in 1986 at the age of 23. Christopher Flynn was Madonna's dance teacher and mentor, who died of aids as well.

Composition[]

The drums were compared to a doomsday clock and the keyboard intervals were also compared to George Gershwin's blues lullaby "Prelude No. 2".

Lyrics[]

Sitting on a park bench
Thinking about a friend of mine
He was only 23
Gone before he had his time
It came without a warning
Didn't want his friends to see him cry
He knew the day was dawning
And I didn't have a chance to say goodbye

In this life
I loved you most of all
What for?
'Cause now you're gone and I have to ask myself
What for?
What for?

Driving down the boulevard
Thinking about a man I knew
He was like a father to me
Nothing in the world that he wouldn't do
Taught me to respect myself
Said that we're all made of flesh and blood
Why should he be treated differently
Shouldn't matter who you choose to love

In this life
I loved you most of all
What for?
'Cause now you're gone and I have to ask myself
What for?

People pass by and I wonder who's next
Who determines, who knows best
Is there a lesson I'm supposed to learn in this case
Ignorance is not bliss

In this life
I loved you most of all
What for?
'Cause now you're gone and I have to ask myself
What for?

People pass by and I wonder who's next
Who determines, who knows best
Is there a lesson I'm supposed to learn in this case
Ignorance is not bliss

Have you ever watched your best friend die
Have you ever watched a grown man cry
Some say that life isn't fair
I say that people just don't care
They'd rather turn the other way
While we wait for this thing to go away
Why do we have to pretend
Some day I pray it will end

I hope it's in this life
I hope it's in this life time
I hope it's in this life
I hope it's in this life time


Erotica+2+(2)
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